Midday

Today on Midday, we turn our focus to foreign affairs, with conversations about Israel and Ukraine. Later in the hour, Tom speaks with an American lawyer and consultant who works with businesses in Ukraine about how Ukrainians are coping with the ravages of Russian aggression.

But we begin with Israel, which is experiencing tremendous internal political tension and terrible new incidents of violence between Israelis and Palestinians Last month, Tom and his wife Linell visited Israel for ten days, traveling with their friends, Rabbi Daniel Cotzin Burg and Rabbi Miriam Cotzin Burg, Baltimore religious leaders who have lots of experience working and studying in Israel. The Burgs fashioned an itinerary that took them to sites important to Jewish and Christian history throughout the country.

They spent several days in Jerusalem, and on Saturday, February 18, when Shabbat had ended and the sun had set, they walked just a few blocks from where they were staying to a large protest in front of the home of Isaac "Bougie" Herzog, the President of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whom everyone calls "Bibi," lives not far from Herzog’s house. But the political power that each wields couldn’t be more disparate.

The President of Israel plays a largely ceremonial role. It is the Prime Minister and the Knesset that shape the laws and public policy in Israel. Bibi Netanyahu is the longest serving Prime Minister in Israeli history, and after a series of elections over the last couple of years, in December, 2022, he formed a coalition that returned him to power.

It is the most right-wing coalition to govern Israel in the country’s history. And it has wasted no time in enacting legislative and policy positions that have created tremendous political polarity among Israelis and have heightened tensions with Palestinians.

The group of protesters Tom encountered in Jerusalem 10 days ago numbered in the thousands. Subsequent protests in the last few days have drawn hundreds of thousands to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other cities.

The anger at the government stems from its attempts to weaken the authority of the courts. Netanyahu and his allies are proposing changing the way Supreme Court Justices are chosen, and allowing Parliament to overturn any decision the Supreme Court makes in regard to what are known as “basic” laws, which are equivalent to constitutional amendments, even though there is no written constitution in Israel.

Critics fear that this would allow this right-wing government to push through radical legislation and trample on the rights of minorities in this democratic society.Much of the coverage in the American press about this controversy focuses on the fact that the Prime Minister himself is a current litigant in a 3 year-old court case, in which he has been charged with corruption. If he prevails in changing the laws regarding judicial review, it is possible that if convicted, that decision could be overturned by his allies in Parliament.

Tom spoke with several people who attended the protest. Netanyahu’s legal troubles were not a major concern. They were much more concerned with the impact his proposed reforms will have on democratic norms and protections.

Joining Tom now is Samuel Sokol. He is a Tel Aviv-based reporter for Haaretz, Israel's daily newspaper of record. He’s been covering the judicial review controversy and the upsurge in violence in the West Bank and elsewhere. He joins us on Zoom.

Samuel Sokol is also the author of a book about Russian aggression in Ukraine, called Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews: Antisemitism, Propaganda, and the Displacement of Ukrainian Jewry.

Samuel will be speaking about the book and other issues in the news at Beth Am Synagogue in Baltimore in May.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Tom's Midday Newsmaker guest today is Shantay Jackson, the Director of the Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE).

Director Jackson is in charge of implementing the Mayor’s plan to reduce violence in Baltimore City. At the heart of that plan is the GVRS, or Group Violence Reduction Strategy, a pilot of which was begun last year in the Western District. MONSE has announced that it will be expanded to include other areas of the city soon.

Director Shantay Jackson joins us on Zoom from her office in City Hall. 

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Jimmy Carter, at the age of 98, is America’s oldest former president. Last week, the Carter family announced that Mr. Carter was entering hospice at his home in Plains, Georgia.

As the world prepares to bid farewell to the 39th U.S. president, re-assessments of his extraordinary life and legacy have begun in earnest, drawing new attention to the unique sweep and impact of Jimmy Carter's accomplishments, from his emergence as a standout liberal Georgia governor who championed civil rights to his election in 1976 as the post-Watergate US president who forged the historic Camp David Middle East Peace Accord.

Mr. Carter has been widely praised as one of the nation's most successful ex-presidents for his four decades of work with the Carter Center's international peace, pro-democracy and global health campaigns — work that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Joining Tom now with an appreciation of Mr. Carter is Dr. James Zogby, an influential Middle East policy expert and the founder and president of the Arab American Institute.

Dr. James Zogby joins Tom on Zoom from Washington, DC.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

We open this edition of Midday with music by Gustav Holst ("Mars," from his "Planets" Suite), in a performance by the Seattle Symphony under the direction of Jonathon Heyward.

Mr. Heyward, to borrow a phrase, is young, gifted and Black. And next season, he will become the new Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. A 30 year-old from Charleston, South Carolina, he is the first person of African descent to lead the BSO, and only the second Black conductor to lead an American top-tier orchestra.

Jonathan Heyward has guest-conducted orchestras in America and abroad, and he has served as the chief conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Germany. Here’s asample of some of his work with that ensemble, performing the music of Franz Joseph Haydn...

Jonathon Heyward's historic tenure at the BSO begins with the orchestra's 2023-24 season this fall. He joins Tom today in Studio A…

Jonathan Heyward and Tom Hall will continue their conversation Monday evening at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall here in Baltimore. They'll talk more about his plans for his inaugural season as the BSO’s Music Director, in an event that will include some performances by members of the orchestra.

Doors open at 7:00, and the program begins at 7:30pm.

Click the event link above for more information.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Tom's Newsmaker guest today is Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr.

Concerns about public safety are on the front burner for County residents after a fatal shooting in the heart of Towson this week and other instances of violence in the County Seat.

Also, what does the future hold for Baltimore County Public Schools? Superintendent Darryl Williams will leave in June after a controversial tenure. Teacher pay will likely be a big focus in the upcoming budget.

Ethics and accountability are also top of mind. A Blue Ribbon Commission has recommended no oversight board for the Baltimore County Office of Inspector General, and a longtime County employee and political operative is accused of embezzlement and perjury.

Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski, Jr. joins Tom on Zoom to discuss these and other county developments.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

It's time for another visit with Midday' theater critic, J. Wynn Rousuck, who joins us each week with her reviews of Maryland's regional stage.

Today she spotlights the new ArtsCentric production of Crowns, playwright Regina Taylor's spirited musical tribute to the traditional Black church, adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry.

The musical — which blends gospel, poetry, dance and dialogue — is directed at Baltimore Center Stage by ArtsCentric's artistic director, Kevin S. McAllister.

Crowns continues at Baltimore Center Stage through March 5. Click the theater link for more information.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

BUILD — the acronym for the influential community action organization known as Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development — has published a report that proposes new ways to change the trajectory of our city, which is losing population quickly, and whose huge stock of vacant houses remains a fundamental problem.

The actual number of vacant houses in Baltimore City is difficult to quantify, but many estimates put it at around 15,000 properties. Over the past 20-plus years, Baltimore has lost nearly that many homeowners, including 5,000 Black homeowners.

What will stem the tide of people leaving our city, and what can be done to refurbish or remove the blighted properties that enshrine poverty in some of our most economically disadvantaged communities?

Tom Hall's guests today will discuss BUILD's comprehensive strategy to address these challenges. Their strategy is not inexpensive. But it’s a moral and economic imperative that these problems be solved, and the report that BUILD has issued reflects a deep understanding of what the problems are, and how they can best be addressed. It’s called Whole Blocks, Whole City: Reclaiming Vacant Property Throughout Baltimore. 

The Rev. George Hopkins is a clergy co-chair of BUILD.

Rev. Andrew Connors is the pastor of Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church and a member of the BUILD strategy team.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Today on Midday, guest host Jayne Miller explores the prospects for adopting a regional approach to governing Baltimore City and Baltmore County, and possibly reunifying them under a single regional government...

Since the mid 1800s, when the Maryland legislature split Baltimore City and Baltimore County into two jurisdictions, the two have operated more or less independently, each with its own local government, agencies, and tax system. Today, Baltimore City is one of just two "free-standing" cities in the country, unable to access resources of its wealthier surrounding county.

Why did the split happen? What shared governance is already in place? Is it time to end this separation and unite the region into a single jurisdiction, a "Greater Baltimore?"

Joining Jayne in Studio A to explore these questions are two keen observers of the Baltimore metropolitan region:

Ron Cassie is a veteran Baltimore writer, journalist and senior editor at Baltimore Magazine. He's also the author of If You Love Baltimore, It Will Love You Back: 171 Short But True Stories," his 2020 collection of a decade's worth of articles he'd written covering the city and its environs.

Jennifer Vey is an urban policy expert and a Senior Fellow with Brookings Metro and director of the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking. She focuses on way to make communities more vibrant, connected and inclusive.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Welcome to Midday, with guest host Jayne Miller  sitting in for Tom Hall.

Today, our focus is Baltimore's transit system, and the associated development it  generates.

In 2015, then-Governor Larry Hogan abruptly eliminated the Red Line project–an east west transit line planned to run from Baltimore County on the west side to Canton in Baltimore City on the east side. Now, Governor Wes Moore has raised the the possibility of resurrecting the Red Line. But how much will it cost? And will legislators outside of the region support this transit option, again?

Joining Jayne to discuss the Red Line's prospects is Baltimore City Delegate Robbyn Lewis, who represents District 46 (Baltimore County) in Annapolis, and who is an avid supporter of transit expansion.

The Red Line isn't the only major Baltimore transit plan under consideration. A major redevelopment plan in Baltimore County that would include a new north-south transit component, is stirring contentious debate.

Few issues spark as much controversy in communities as development plans that increase housing density. Such a controversy is playing out now in Lutherville, in Baltimore County, where a developer is proposing to redevelop the Ridgely Plaza Shopping Center into a transit-oriented development. The idea has been applauded by some and strongly opposed by others.

Jayne is joined by Eric Rockel and Kathleen Beadell of the Greater Timonium Community Council, which opposes the Lutherville development plan. Eric is the past president and current vice president; Kathleen is the Council's newly-elected president.

Next, Jayne speaks with Michael Scepaniak, the co-chair of Strong Towns Baltimore, an organization that seeks to reduce car-centric land use and development, and which has been supportive of the Lutherville plan.

Michael joins us in Studio A.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.

Today on this Presidents' Day edition of Midday, guest host Jayne Miller, the award-winning former WBAL-TV investigative reporter who retired last summer, begins a three-day stint in the Midday host chair while Tom Hall is away.

Our focus today: the future of work.

The pandemic has had a lasting impact on how people work, when they work and where they want to work. Remote and hybrid options are becoming permanent changes to more traditional work schedules.

But picture this option:only four days of work per week. The Maryland Legislature is now considering a bill to start a 4-day work week pilot.

Joining Jayne to discuss that prospect is the bill’s sponsor– Senator Shelly Hettleman, who represents District 11 (Baltimore County) in Annapolis.

Jayne speaks next with Dr. Roger Ward, Provost at the University of Maryland at Baltimore, about his leadership of UMB's Future of Work Task Force, which has been studying a wide range of work scenarios, and plans to release their final report by this summer.

Governor Wes Moore often speaks of the large number of vacancies in public sector jobs, but what can be done to attract more applicants and fill these openings?

Jayne's final guest today is Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Council 3, the union that represents state and higher education employees. Mr. Moran discusses the new challenges of finding people to fill important jobs in the public sector.

Email us at [email protected], tweet us: @MiddayWYPR, or call us at 410-662-8780.